Multiplexer charge injection reduction

ABSTRACT

A multiplexer comprises: a first switch; a second switch; a dummy component coupled to the first switch and the second switch and configured to: reduce a first charge injection of the first switch, and reduce a second charge injection of the second switch; and an output coupled to the first switch, the second switch, and the dummy component. A method comprises: providing an output from either a first switch or a second switch; coupling, by a dummy component, to the first switch and the second switch; using a BBM action; and reducing, by the dummy component, a first charge injection of the first switch or a second charge injection of the second switch.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This divisional application claims priority to U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 15/231,350, filed Aug. 8, 2016, which application claimspriority to Indian provisional patent application number 4129/CHE/2015,filed Aug. 7, 2015, both of which are incorporated herein by referencein their entirety.

BACKGROUND

A multiplexer is a device that can select from among different inputsignals and output either one or more output signals based on the inputsignals. There are many different types of analog multiplexers. Forinstance, many multiplexers may have 2, 4, 8, 16, or more than 16channels. Multiplexers are used in applications such as dataacquisition, sample-and-hold, ATE, audio signal routing, batterypowered, medical instrumentation, and single supply applications.

SUMMARY

In one embodiment, the disclosure includes a multiplexer comprising: afirst switch; a second switch; a dummy component coupled to the firstswitch and the second switch and configured to: reduce a first chargeinjection of the first switch, and reduce a second charge injection ofthe second switch; and an output coupled to the first switch, the secondswitch, and the dummy component.

In another embodiment, the disclosure includes a method comprising:providing an output from either a first switch or a second switch;coupling, by a dummy component, to the first switch and the secondswitch; using a break-before-make (BBM) action; and reducing, by thedummy component, a first charge injection of the first switch or asecond charge injection of the second switch.

In yet another embodiment, the disclosure includes an apparatuscomprising: a first switch comprising a first gate and a first bulk; afirst voltage supply configured to separately drive the first gate andthe first bulk; a second switch coupled to the first switch andcomprising a second gate and a second bulk; and a second voltage supplyconfigured to separately drive the second gate and the second bulk.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a detailed description of various examples, reference will now bemade to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a multiplexer according to anembodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a signal timing diagram illustrating a relationship between ENand the dummy component in the multiplexer in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a signal timing diagram illustrating a relationship betweenthe break-before-make (BBM) action and the dummy component in themultiplexer 100 in FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a graph of charge injection curves for different multiplexers.

FIG. 5 is another graph of charge injection curves for differentmultiplexers.

FIG. 6 is a graph of capacitance curves for different multiplexers.

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of a circuit according to an embodiment ofthe disclosure.

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of a fault-protection circuit according toan embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 9 is a graph of simulated charge injection curves for differentcircuits.

FIG. 10 is a graph of experimental charge injection curves for differentcircuits.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating a method of charge injectionreduction according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Certain terms are used throughout the following description and claimsto refer to particular system components. As one skilled in the art willappreciate, different companies may refer to a component by differentnames. This document does not intend to distinguish between componentsthat differ in name but not function. In the following discussion and inthe claims, the terms “including” and “comprising” are used in anopen-ended fashion, and thus should be interpreted to mean “including,but not limited to . . . .” Also, the term “couple” or “couples” isintended to mean either an indirect or direct wired or wirelessconnection. Thus, if a first device couples to a second device, thatconnection may be through a direct connection or through an indirectconnection via other devices and connections.

The following abbreviations, acronyms, and initialisms apply:

-   -   A: address    -   ATE: automatic test equipment (ATE)    -   BBM: break before make, break-before-make    -   CMOS: complementary MOS    -   EN: enable    -   MOS: metal-oxide-semiconductor    -   NMOS: n-type MOS    -   pC: picocoulombs    -   pF: picofarads    -   PMOS: p-type MOS    -   RC: resistor-capacitor    -   s: seconds    -   V: voltage, volts.

First, data acquisition applications, sample-and-hold applications, andother applications use multiplexers comprising switches. Dataacquisition applications and sample-and-hold applications are precisionapplications and therefore should be relatively free of non-idealitiessuch as charge injection. A charge injection refers to a charge injectedat a source or a drain of a transistor when the transistor turns on oroff or refers to a charge injected at an input or an output of a switchwhen the switch turns on or off. A transistor or a combination oftransistors may implement a switch. Switches in multiplexers may sufferfrom such a charge injection.

One approach to reduce or eliminate the charge injection in multiplexersis to couple a dummy component to each switch. Dummy components aretermed “dummy” because they do not provide logical outputs for themultiplexers. Rather, they compensate for, or reduce or eliminate,charge injections of switches. Dummy components do so by turning off, ordeactivating, when corresponding switches turn on, or activate, and byturning on when corresponding switches turn off. However, each dummycomponent increases a capacitance at a node where the dummy componentcouples to an input or an output of the corresponding switch. Thatcapacitance, in turn, may slow down a switching operation of the switch.There is therefore a need for reducing both that charge injection andthat capacitance.

Second, when weakly driven by common power rails, bulks and gates ofswitches and dummy components experience increased coupling during logicswitching. That increased coupling causes sub-optimal charge injectioncompensation from the dummy components, which causes a high chargeinjection. This occurs in, for instance fault protection switches usingvirtual rails. Virtual rails, which may be internally generated usingdiodes or other components, might not have a strong drive capability,especially when an input approaches the power rails. Large diodes orbuffers may strengthen the driving, but those components consume a lotof power or have other shortcomings.

Disclosed herein are embodiments for multiplexer charge injectionreduction. The embodiments may apply to analog multiplexers. In a firstembodiment, a single dummy component, which may be referred to as acharge injection compensation dummy component, couples to a plurality ofswitches or to all switches in a multiplexer. The dummy component uses aBBM action of the multiplexer to substantially maintain a chargeinjection or substantially maintain a reduction in charge injectionwhile reducing a capacitance compared to multiplexers that couple adummy component to each switch. In a second embodiment, a circuitseparately drives gates and bulks of transistors. The separate drivingof the gates and the bulks reduces coupling between the gates and thebulks during switching. The reduction of coupling, in turn, results inan improved charge injection reduction.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a multiplexer 100 according to anembodiment of the disclosure. The multiplexer 100 comprises a switch₁110, a switch₂ 120, and a dummy component 130. The multiplexer 100further comprises inputs V_(in1), V_(in2), On₁, On₂, EN, A[1], and A[0],as well as output V_(out). The multiplexer 100 is shown in a simplifiedmanner. Thus, any suitable logical components may implement the logic ofthe multiplexer 100.

The switch₁ 110 and the switch₂ 120 may be NMOS transistors, PMOStransistors, CMOS transistors, or other suitable switches. The switch₁110 corresponds to a first channel, channel 1, and the switch₂ 120corresponds to a second channel, channel 2. A logic high value for On₁turns on, or closes, the switch₁ 110; a logic low value for On₁ turnsoff, or opens, the switch₁ 110. Similarly, a high value for On₂ turnson, or closes, the switch₂ 120; a low value for On₂ turns off, or opens,the switch₂ 120. When the switch₁ 110 is on and the switch₂ 120 is off,then the multiplexer 100 outputs V_(in1) corresponding to the switch₁110. Similarly, when the switch₁ 110 is off and the switch₂ 120 is on,then the multiplexer 100 outputs V_(in2) corresponding to the switch₂120. A high value for EN enables either the switch₁ 110 or the switch₂120 to turn on. A low value for EN disables both the switch₁ 110 and theswitch₂ 120.

Any other suitable logic levels for ON and EN may turn on and turn offthe switch₁ 110 and the switch₂ 120. A logic high and a logic low may bedefined in any suitable manner. For instance, a logic high for an NMOSswitch is a physical high voltage of 5 V, while a logic low for the NMOSswitch is a physical low voltage of 0 V. A logic high for a PMOS switchis a physical low voltage of 0 V, while a logic low for the PMOS switchis a physical high voltage of 5 V.

The dummy component 130 may be an NMOS transistor, a PMOS transistor, acapacitor, CMOS transistors, or another suitable dummy component. Inexamples where the dummy component 130 is a transistor, the transistormay be coupled between the terminals (e.g., conduction terminals) of oneor both of the switches 110, 120 and V_(out). For example, a firstcurrent conduction terminal (e.g., source or drain terminal) of thetransistor may be coupled to terminals of one or both of the switches110, 120 and a second current conduction terminal (e.g., source or drainterminal) of the transistor may be coupled to V_(out). A controlterminal of the transistor (e.g., a gate terminal) may be coupled to theoutput of dummy component control logic, which is discussed below. Inexamples where the dummy component 130 is a capacitor, a first terminalof the capacitor may be coupled to the output of the dummy controllogic, and a second terminal of the capacitor may be coupled to theterminals of one or both of the switches 110, 120 and to V_(out).

The dummy component 130 may comprise control logic. Any suitable logicalcombination of On₁ and On₂ controls the dummy component 130. The dummycomponent 130 turns on when one of two events occurs. For a first event,the dummy component 130 turns on when EN disables both channel 1 andchannel 2. For a second event, the dummy component 130 turns on for atime t_(BBM) when the multiplexer 100 transitions from either channel 1to channel 2 or from channel 2 to channel 1. From both events, the dummycomponent 130 reduces or eliminates any charge injected when the switch₁110 and the switch₂ 120 turn off. The dummy component 130 does so byproving an equal and opposite charge.

Though the multiplexer 100 is shown as comprising the switch₁ 110, andthe switch₂ 120, the multiplexer 100 may comprise any number of suchswitches and corresponding channels. Though the multiplexer 100 is shownas comprising a single, or common, dummy component 130 coupled to boththe switch₁ 110 and the switch₂ 120, the multiplexer 100 may compriseany number of such dummy components. Thus, the multiplexer 100 maycomprise 2, 4, 8, 16, or more switches coupled to one dummy component;2, 4, 8, 16, or more switches coupled to two dummy components; or othersuitable combinations of switches and dummy components. In someexamples, the total number of dummy components in the multiplexer 100may be less than the total number of channels and/or inputs in themultiplexer 100.

The multiplexer 100 takes advantage of its BBM action. The BBM actionensures that both the switch₁ 110 and the switch₂ 120 are completely offwhen the multiplexer 100 transitions from either the switch₁ 110 to theswitch₂ 120 or from the switch₂ 120 to the switch₁ 110. Thus, themultiplexer 100 may have only one of the switches on at a time. A delaycircuit such as a chain of inverters or an RC circuit may implement theBBM action.

There are at least two considerations related to the multiplexer 100.First, as mentioned above, a logical combination of On₁ and On₂ controlsthe dummy component 130. In other words, the dummy component 130 is alogical combination of the switch₁ 110 and the switch₂ 120. As a result,as a number of switches in the multiplexer 100 increases, a logic delaybetween when the switches turn on or turn off and when the dummycomponent 130 turns on or turns off also increases. To address that, themultiplexer 100 may comprise delay element before switch control signalsin order to closely synchronize those control signals with the controlof the dummy component 130. In addition, both the switch₁ 110 and theswitch₂ 120 should turn off before the dummy component 130 turns on.Second, continuously transitioning between the switch₁ 110 and theswitch₂ 120 causes a fast turn on and turn off of the switch₁ 110 andthe switch₂ 120 and may require proper BBM action to turn on and turnoff the dummy component 130, which is synchronized with the switch₁ 110and the switch₂ 120.

FIG. 2 is a signal timing diagram 200 illustrating a relationshipbetween EN and the dummy component 130 in the multiplexer 100 in FIG. 1.The x-axis represent time in s, and the y-axes represent voltages in V.As shown, when EN is high, the dummy component 130 is off. At the sametime, On₁ may be high so that channel 1 is on. As mentioned above, On₂may not be high and channel 2 may not be on when channel 1 is on. WhenEN transitions from high to low, after a small propagation delay On₁transitions from high to low and channel 1 turns off. At the same timeor after a small propagation delay, the dummy component controltransitions from low to high and the dummy component 130 turns on.

FIG. 3 is a signal timing diagram 300 illustrating a relationshipbetween the BBM action and the dummy component 130 in the multiplexer100 in FIG. 1. The x-axis represents time in s, and the y-axes representvoltage in V. As shown, A[1] and A[0] may be 00 so that On₁ is high andchannel 1 is on. A transition of A[1] and A[0] from 00 to 01 signals aswitch from channel 1 to channel 2. Specifically, On₁ transitions fromhigh to low, or “breaks,” at a break time and channel 1 turns off. Aftera propagation delay, the dummy component 130 turns on. Both On₁ and On₂,and thus both channel 1 and channel 2, remain off for the time t_(BBM).After the time t_(BBM), On₂ transitions from low to high, or “makes” ata make time. Thus, the time between the break time and the make time isthe time t_(BBM). After a propagation delay, the dummy component 130turns off. In short, there is a BBM action when there is a transitionfrom one channel to another channel, and the dummy component 130 turnson after the break and turns off after the make.

FIG. 4 is a graph 400 of charge injection curves for differentmultiplexers. The x-axis represents V_(in1) or V_(in2) in V, and they-axis represents a charge injection in pC. The graph 400 comprises fourcurves representing different multiplexers. The green curve represents amultiplexer with no dummy components, the red curve represents amultiplexer with multiple dummy components, the blue curve represents asimulation of a multiplexer such as the multiplexer 100 with one dummycomponent such as the dummy component 130 per four switches, and theblack curve represents an experiment of a multiplexer such as themultiplexer 100 with one dummy component such as the dummy component 130per four switches. As shown, the multiplexer with no dummy componentexhibits a very high charge injection, particularly as V_(in1) orV_(in2) increases. However, the curves representing the multiplexer withmultiple dummy components, the simulated multiplexer with one dummycomponent per four switches, and the experimental multiplexer with onedummy component per four switches appear indistinguishable.

FIG. 5 is another graph 500 of charge injection curves for differentmultiplexers. The x-axis represents V_(in1) or V_(in2) in V, and they-axis represents a charge injection in pC. The graph 500 is anenlargement of a portion of the graph 400 in FIG. 4 that highlights thered curve, the blue curve, and the black curve from the graph 400. Asshown, the multiplexer with multiple dummy components, the simulatedmultiplexer with one dummy component per four switches, and theexperimental multiplexer with one dummy component per four switchesexhibit similar charge injection characteristics.

FIG. 6 is a graph 600 of capacitance curves for different multiplexers.The x-axis represents V_(in1) or V_(in2) in V, and the y-axis representsa capacitance at the pF. The green curve represents a multiplexer withno dummy components, the red curve represents a multiplexer withmultiple dummy components, the blue curve represents a simulation of amultiplexer such as the multiplexer 100 with one dummy component such asthe dummy component 130 per four switches, and the black curverepresents an experiment of a multiplexer such as the multiplexer 100with one dummy component such as the dummy component 130 per fourswitches. As shown, the multiplexer with no dummy components exhibitsthe lowest capacitance, but as shown in the graph 400, that multiplexerexhibits a very high charge injection, which may not be acceptable inpractical applications. The multiplexer with multiple dummy componentsexhibits a relatively high capacitance, while the simulated multiplexerwith one dummy component per four switches and the experimentalmultiplexer with one dummy component per four switches exhibit lowercapacitances that are closer to the capacitance of the multiplexer withno dummy components. Thus, the multiplexer with one dummy component perfour switches provides both an acceptable charge injection and anacceptable capacitance.

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of a circuit 700 according to anembodiment of the disclosure. The circuit 700 comprises impedances 705,710, 715, 720; a logic circuit 725; an inverter 730; a switch 735; and adummy switch 740. The circuit 700 further comprises voltage suppliesAVSS, AVDD; inputs V_(in) and On; and an output V_(out). The circuit 700is shown in a simplified manner. Thus, any suitable logical componentsmay implement the logic of the circuit 700.

The switch 735 and the dummy switch 740 both comprise CMOS transistors745, 750, 755, 760. Each of the CMOS transistors 745-760 comprises abulk and a gate. As further shown, the bulks and the gates of thetransistors 745-760 are separately driven. Specifically, the impedance705 produces AVSS_(Gate) from AVSS, and AVSS_(Gate) drives the gates ofthe NMOS transistors 745, 750. The impedance 710 produces AVSS_(Bulk)from AVSS, and AVSS_(Bulk) drives the bulks of the NMOS transistors 745,750. The impedance 715 produces AVDD_(Gate) from AVDD, and AVDD_(Gate)drives the gates of the PMOS transistors 755, 760. Finally, theimpedance 720 produces AVDD_(Bulk) from AVDD, and AVDD_(Bulk) drives thegates of the PMOS transistors 755, 760. The separate driving of thegates and the bulks reduces coupling between the gates and the bulksduring switching, resulting in improved charge injection reducing by thedummy switch 740.

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of a fault-protection circuit 800according to an embodiment of the disclosure. The fault-protectioncircuit 800 is an example implementation of the circuit 700 in FIG. 7.For instance, the fault-protection circuit 800 comprises a logic circuit825, an inverter 830, a switch 835, and a dummy switch 840. However, thefault-protection circuit 800 comprises minimum selectors 805, 810 andmaximum selectors 815, 820 to represent the impedances 705-720 in thecircuit 700. The circuit 800 further comprises voltage supplies AVSS,AVDD; inputs V_(in) and On; and an output V_(out). The circuit 800 isshown in a simplified manner. Thus, any suitable logical components mayimplement the logic of the circuit 800.

The switch 835 and the dummy switch 840 both comprise CMOS transistors845, 850, 855, 860. Each of the CMOS transistors 845-860 comprises abulk and a gate. As further shown, the bulks and the gates of thetransistors 845-860 are separately driven. Specifically, the minimumselector 805 produces a minimum of AVSS and V_(in), or AVSS₁, whichdrives the gates of the NMOS transistors 845, 850. The minimum selector810 produces a minimum of AVSS and V_(in), or AVSS₂, which drives thebulks of the NMOS transistors 845, 850. The maximum selector 815produces a maximum of AVDD and V_(in), or AVDD₂, which drives the gatesof the PMOS transistors 855, 860. Finally, the maximum selector 820produces a maximum of AVDD and V_(in), or AVDD₁, which drives the gatesof the PMOS transistors 855, 860. AVSS₁, AVSS₂, AVDD₂, and AVDD₁ arereferred to as virtual rails. The separate driving of the gates and thebulks reduces coupling between the gates and the bulks during switching,resulting in improved charge injection reducing by the dummy switch 840.It is not necessary to improve the impedance of AVSS₁, AVSS₂, AVDD₂, andAVDD₁ near the rails, so the fault-protection circuit 800 is relativelylow power and relatively low complexity. Though the circuit 700 and thefault-protection circuit 800 are shown, the disclosed separate drivingof the gates and bulks of the transistors may be implemented in anysuitable circuits.

FIG. 9 is a graph 900 of simulated charge injection curves for differentcircuits. The x-axis represents V_(in1) in V, and the y-axis representsa charge injection in pC. The graph 900 comprises two curvesrepresenting different circuits. The blue curve represents a circuitwith common gate and bulk driving, and the green curve represents acircuit such as the circuit 700, 800 with separate gate and bulkdriving. As shown, the charge injection of the circuit with common gateand bulk driving has sharp deviations below about −14 V and above about14 V, while the charge injection for the circuit with separate gate andbulk driving remains substantially flat.

FIG. 10 is a graph 1000 of experimental charge injection curves fordifferent circuits. The x-axis represents V_(in1) in V, and the y-axisrepresents a charge injection in pC. The graph 1000 comprises two curvesrepresenting different circuits. The blue curve represents a circuitwith common gate and bulk driving, and the green curve represents acircuit such as the circuits 700, 800 with separate gate and bulkdriving. As shown, like in the graph 900 in FIG. 9, the charge injectionof the circuit with common gate and bulk driving has sharp deviationsbelow about −14 V and above about 14 V, while the charge injection forthe circuit with separate gate and bulk driving remains substantiallyflat.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating a method 1100 of charge injectionreduction according to an embodiment of the disclosure. The multiplexer100 may implement the method 1100. At step 1110, an output is providedfrom either the first switch or the second switch. For instance, eitherthe switch₁ 110 or the switch₂ 120 turns on and provides an output forthe multiplexer 100. At step 1120, a dummy component couples to a firstswitch and a second switch. For instance, the dummy component 130couples to the switch₁ 110 and the switch₂ 120. At step 1130, a BBMaction is used. For instance, the dummy component 130 uses the timet_(BBM) in the BBM action shown in the signal timing diagram 300.Finally, at step 1140, the dummy component reduces a first chargeinjection of the first switch or a second charge injection of the secondswitch. For instance, the dummy component 130 turns on to reduce a firstcharge injection of the switch₁ 110 or a second charge injection of theswitch₂ 120.

A first component is directly coupled to a second component when thereare no intervening components, except for a line, a trace, or anothermedium between the first component and the second component. The firstcomponent is indirectly coupled to the second component when there areintervening components other than a line, a trace, or another mediumbetween the first component and the second component. The term “coupled”and its derivatives includes both directly coupled and indirectlycoupled. The use of the term “about” means a range including ±10% of thesubsequent number, unless otherwise stated.

The above discussion is meant to be illustrative of the principles andvarious embodiments of the present invention. Numerous variations andmodifications will become apparent to those skilled in the art once theabove disclosure is fully appreciated. It is intended that the followingclaims be interpreted to embrace all such variations and modifications.

What is claimed is:
 1. An apparatus comprising: a first switchcomprising a first gate and a first bulk; a first voltage supplyconfigured to separately drive the first gate and the first bulk; asecond switch coupled to the first switch and comprising a second gateand a second bulk; and a second voltage supply configured to separatelydrive the second gate and the second bulk.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1,wherein the first switch comprises a first transistor and a thirdtransistor, wherein the first transistor comprises the first gate andthe first bulk, wherein the third transistor comprises a third gate anda third bulk, and wherein the second voltage supply is furtherconfigured to separately drive the third gate and the third bulk.
 3. Theapparatus of claim 2, wherein the second switch is a dummy switch. 4.The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the second switch comprises a secondtransistor and a fourth transistor, wherein the second transistorcomprises the second gate and the second bulk, wherein the fourthtransistor comprises a fourth gate and a fourth bulk, and wherein thefirst voltage supply is further configured to separately drive thefourth gate and the fourth bulk.